Trayvon Martin’s Mother Loses Election By 331 Votes

Sybrina Fulton, social justice activist and mother of slain teenager Trayvon Martin, ran for office in Miami-Dade County, Florida and lost by just a small handful of votes.

According to The Miami Herald, Fulton lost the seat to Mayor Oliver Gilbert by 331 votes out of a total 34,000 votes cast — in other words, by less than 1%.

RELATED: An Open Letter To Sybrina Fulton

After conceding to her opponent, Fulton tweeted a message of gratitude to her supporters.

“This pic is where my journey begin, I thank God for an awesome experience,” Fulton said in a statement Thursday. “I’d like to say THANK YOU to my wonderful family & friends, my team, donors, supporters & especially everyone of you who voted for me. Plz know, positive change will come in due time.”
 

Fulton was running for a seat on the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners, where she would have had a say in all county matters, from allocation of resources to local policy. She was drawn to activism and politics after the 2012 fatal shooting of her 17-year-old son, Trayvon Martin, by vigilante George Zimmerman.

“Since 2012, I have advocated tirelessly to empower our communities and make them safer,” Fulton said in an Instagram post announcing her candidacy last year. “But the work is not done. I am proud to announce that I will run to represent District 1 on the county commission.”

Fulton was endorsed by a number of high-level Democrats, including Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.